Alabama community gets digital radio system

The Montgomery Metro Communications Cooperative District (MMCCD) in Montgomery County, Ala., has awarded Melbourne, Fla.-based Harris Public Safety & Professional Communications with a $7.3 million public safety communications contract. The contract will allow Harris to design and construct a P25IP (Project 25 to the Power of Internet Protocol) 800-MHz radio system. The system will give Montgomery city and county officials improved voice and data communications capabilities. Under the agreement, Harris will provide city and county officials with mobile and portable radios as well as CS7000 control stations.

The radio system will serve more than 2,400 city and county users, including 1,500 first responders for Montgomery County’s 220,000 residents. The Harris P25IP system will consist of five sites to accommodate the needs of first responders across the county, and can expand to accommodate the communication needs of neighboring counties in the future, if needed. The deal will migrate Montgomery's legacy EDACS system to a standards-based digital system and add future-capable mobile and portable radios. Public safety agencies will experience minimal disruption during the migration.

"The MMCCD is committed to providing the best possible service to citizens and responders, and we recognized the need to migrate to a standards-based system to increase the interoperable capabilities of our emergency response," said Chief Deputy Derrick Cunningham, chairman of the MMCCD board. "After a thorough evaluation and review process, we selected the Harris P25IP system as the best choice to meet the needs of public safety forces today and moving into the future. We are investing in standards-based equipment while still utilizing our legacy equipment to reduce costs."

The Harris P25IP system relies on the company’s VIDA network, that provides network-level interoperable communications with other public safety agencies. The network platform is a unified IP-based voice and data communication system based on APCO P25 industry standards. VIDA delivers IP management features, including interoperability without intervention of console operators, IP consoles and other benefits inherent in open IP architecture systems. The P25 system complies with both the current P25 Phase 1 standard and the emerging P25 Phase 2 industry standards.